West Seattle, Washington
08 Thursday
SDOT and Metro have made a two-part announcement about transportation for eastern West Seattle and South Park: Metro Flex service is expanding into eastern West Seattle later this month. And two bus routes will add trips in mid-September. Funding for both is from the Seattle Transit Measure, the sales tax increase approved by voters in 2020.
METRO FLEX: On July 22, this on-demand service – costing riders the same as buses – will launch in Delridge and South Park, as a two-year test run.
The announcement says it will “provide an on-demand van ride to a variety of destinations within the service area for the cost of a bus fare” and lists sample destinations including:
Chief Sealth International High School
Delridge neighborhood
Duwamish Longhouse and western Duwamish Valley
Highland Park neighborhood
South Park neighborhood
South Seattle College
Westwood Village
The announcement explains you can book Metro Flex via app or phone:
After downloading the Metro Flex app from an app store on a smartphone, riders choose their desired destination. They’ll receive a nearby pick-up location to meet their driver and may share the ride with other passengers. Riders with mobility needs—such as using a wheelchair—can save this information within their Metro Flex profile. Download Metro Flex in the app store or call 206-258-7739 for a ride.
ADDED BUS SERVICE: On September 14, Routes 60 and 125 will add trips. 125 currently runs six days a week but will add Sundays; the announcement says 125 will in all add “about 50 additional bus trips each week, 26 bus trips on Sundays.” For Route 60, which serves Westwood Village and South Park, trips will be added on both weekdays and weekends, the announcement says, to “increase Route 60 bus service by over 3,000 operational hours a year.” The Route 125 additions were hinted at earlier this year, during a discussion of proposed stop closures/moves; this announcement does not mention the status of those, so we’ll be following up.
(QUICK LINKS: Music lineups … food/drink info … merchant/vendor info … Kids Zone info … bus reroutes …and ICYMI, our Summer Fest Eve coverage)
1:44 PM: Our peninsula’s biggest party of the year, West Seattle Summer Fest – today through Sunday – has started! Here’s our view from the Info Booth at California/Alaska:
See the Mobile Apparel booth in the center of that view? That’s where you can get your customized Summer Fest T-shirt. Other festival merch is on sale here, on the west side of the Info Booth:
Also here on the south side of the Info Booth right now – Seattle Police Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite with some free items including steering-wheel locks (3:03 pm update – they’re out but there’s more at the precinct):
Alice Kuder is on the east side of the Info Booth this afternoon, talking about her Just In Case Preparedness Services and the free scavenger hunt she’s presenting next month, Summer Scramble:
South of the intersection, you’ll find all the festival food (with reusable ware) – aside from what the year-round food/drink businesses are offering at (and/or in front of) their venues. In Junction Plaza Park, where the West Side Stage will have music starting at 4 pm (the main stage, north of SW Oregon, near the Post Office, gets going at 3 pm; buskers are playing music at other spots too). West of California/Alaska is the Kids’ Zone, lots of free fun as well as the inflatables (for which you need a day pass or individual tickets – you can pay online too).
2:56 PM: Most of the inflatables are actually in the parking lot behind KeyBank – if you look down SW Alaska, you’ll only see one, and the ticket booth. Also on Alaska by the lot entrance – the West Seattle Arcade game zone:
Elsewhere in festival-land, it’s almost time for the main-stage music to start, up on California SW north of Oregon:
Music is also happening inside Jet City Labs (a few steps north of Easy Street) – proprietor Derek Moon has a DJ lineup all weekend:
Or you can keep shopping – remember, this all began as a sidewalk sale way back when, and many year-round merchants have tables outside their shops, like Three Little Birds (with a guest appearance by their sister store Alair):
That’s on the east side of California south of Alaska. At the very south end of the festival zone, we found a visiting vendor with a sense of humor:
3:39 PM: Also on the Alaska-to-Edmunds section of California, one of the festival’s face painters – we just got a question about where to find them (answer: midblock raised crosswalk):
4:32 PM: Music has begun on both stages – the West Side Stage (sponsored by West Side Music Academy) is in Junction Plaza Park, north of the food vendors – we stopped by while Nathan Shafi was playing:
Among the bands scheduled for that stage in the next few hours – local faves The Potholes are playing at 6 pm. Up at the Main Stage north of Oregon (which is also where you’ll find the Beer Garden – featuring non-alcoholic specialties too), it’s Bexley right now.
Music on that stage runs until 11 tonight; vendors are open until 8 pm-ish. Some are bringing a taste of other parts of the city – like Pike Place Nuts, on the south block, with sweet and savory nuts:
5:25 PM: Summer Fest is powered by volunteers – among them, the school communities that are running the Kid Zone. Explorer West Middle School is there today – we said hi to Dawn:
Explorer West is a WSB sponsor, as are the two schools you’ll find in the Kids’ Zone this weekend, Tilden School and Hope Lutheran.
Meantime, we’ve talked a lot about music – but you can immerse yourself in books at the festival too! Not just by visiting Pegasus Book Exchange, but also via the Author Event Network‘s festival booth – they’re back this year to spotlight independent authors and their books. Among them, West Seattle’s own Susan Kemp, who has just published “The Time Philosopher,” sequel to her previous book “Climate Machine” – she’s in the network booth all three days of the festival (here’s the full list of who’s there):
5:51 PM: As usual for the first day of the festival, evening’s arrival brings a bigger crowd. The food zone, where you’ll find festival faves like elephant ears and cotton candy as well as dinner fare, is developing lines. The music is about to heat up too – we’ll be at the West Side Stage at 6 for The Potholes; Mikey Moo takes the Main Stage right about then. And if you haven’t been to The Junction yet, the temperature has been perfect all day – 15-plus degrees cooler than earlier this week, just a bit breezy.
6:19 PM: Some video from the start of The Potholes’ set:
They’re performing again at noon Sunday, also at the West Side Stage in Junction Plaza Park (just northeast of the food vendors).
7:02 PM: Vendors are here until 8, so you still have time to scope everything out in the mellow evening air. Here’s the evening view from the Info Booth:
Continuing to wander the vendor rows, we said hi to Vanessa at WSB sponsor Camp Crockett:
Camp Crockett’s places for your pups include spaces from Upper Morgan to North Delridge – but you can find out about them right here in The Junction during the festival, another bonus of visiting Summer Fest – learning about dozens of local businesses (including the year-round Junction merchants) all in one place. Another WSB sponsor, Mode Music Studios, is here – Lindsey‘s in the house this evening talking with people about their lessons and camps:
And if you still haven’t tried Papa Tony’s Hot Sauce – a Farmers’ Market fixture – Tony himself is here:
8 PM: The vendors are wrapping up (food booths usually stay longer, and of course the year-round restaurants/bars are open too) since it’s official closing time (except for main-stage music, which continues until 11ish). We’re rolling up the info booth too, but continuous coverage will continue Saturday – back tomorrow at 10 to start Saturday!
ADDED SATURDAY: WSB contributor Jason Grotelueschen sent this photo of Easy Street’s Matt Vaughan introducing The Long Winters‘ closing set:
Jason says Matt declared Roderick “the Mark Twain of Seattle.”
(P.S. – if your business, organization, performing group, etc. is doing something this weekend at Summer Fest – tell us about it, via text at 206-293-6302 or email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!)
More coyote sightings, first one sent by Amy on Thursday:
Just saw a coyote chasing my chickens. Keep your pets indoors! We live between the Pathfinder trails and the Duwamish Longhouse. Still waiting to see if my scattered flock returns….
Since we weren’t able to publish that immediately, we checked back later, and Amy updated us:
The chickens are mostly okay. They came out of hiding about an hour later. One of them had bite marks and needed stitches, but will recover. The attack happened around 10:00 AM. I’m not letting the chickens or my cat out unsupervised any time soon.
Rose De Dan thinks her cat might have encountered a coyote, perhaps the one captured on her Wild Reiki Spa video from the Belvidere area last Saturday:
I love and respect coyotes but do not want to see one hunting at the Wild Reiki Spa near dawn. The coyote doubles back; he’s hunting something, maybe a rabbit. The two sets of glowing eyes on the mid-left are my two foster cats watching the action from the window. I am worried; former outdoor-only stray cat Tamerlan came home dirty and injured around 10 p.m. last night (no bites, but a possible muscle strain and fall, perhaps from fleeing a coyote). I am glad I can warn the neighbors to keep their cats in at night and not leave their dogs unattended in the backyard. This is a very healthy coyote and pets don’t stand a chance.
And Sally reported this Wednesday sighting:
I’d never seen a coyote in person, so I guess today was my turn.
I saw it come from SW Holly, at the south edge of South Seattle College. It started to run out onto 16th Ave SW, but ran back to the curb to avoid getting hit by cars. It had a small animal in its mouth, but I couldn’t tell what it was – could have been a cat. All I saw was that the prey had dark gray, brown, white stripe-y soft texture. To me, it really looked like the back of a barred owl, though I couldn’t imagine that a coyote would manage to catch an owl? This was around 6:45 am.
As we’ve noted many times before in our 15-plus years of coyote-sighting reports, coyotes have a varied diet – nuts and berries as well as wildlife (squirrels, rats, etc.) and yes, some unattended pets. We publish sightings periodically for awareness, not alarm; even if you don’t live near a greenbelt, they’re likely in your neighborhood. Learn about them here.
That scene outside Easy Street Records this morning is a reminder of West Seattle Summer Fest‘s origins – it began as a Junction-wide sidewalk sale decades ago. Some of the year-round merchants continue with sidewalk sales during the festival, which starts today and leads off our highlight list:
WEST SEATTLE SUMMER FEST AT A GLANCE: Official festival hours are 1 pm to 8 pm, with mainstage music and the beer garden continuing later. The festival stretches along California SW from the main stage (in the Post Office vicinity between Genesee and Oregon) to Edmunds, and along SW Alaska from the Kids’ Zone (California to 44th) to the food zone (California to 42nd). The schedules for both music stages (the smaller West Side Stage is in Junction Plaza Park) are here; the food/drink info (including Beer Garden menus – non-alcoholic too) is here; the vendors (etc.) list is here; the Kids Zone info, including advance inflatable ticket/pass purchase, is here. We’ll be covering the festival nonstop while on Team Info Booth all festival; see you there!
Here’s what else is happening, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
FREE SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS: Multiple locations and varying times in West Seattle – here’s the list.
SSC GARDEN CENTER: Plants await you at the north end of the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus, until 3 pm.
MOON ROOM SUMMER SALE: 20 percent off today through Sunday, in the store (5902 California SW; WSB sponsor) and online at moonroomshop.com – open 11 am-6 pm today, 11 am-5 pm Saturday and Sunday!
HIGHLAND PARK SPRAYPARK: Open 11 am-8 pm. Free! (1100 SW Cloverdale)
WADING POOLS: Open today – Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW), noon-7 pm; Delridge (4501 Delridge Way SW) and Hiawatha (2700 California SW), noon-5:30 pm.
COLMAN POOL CLOSED TO PUBLIC: Swim-meet closures today and toorrow for the outdoor pool at Lincoln Park – otherwise here’s the usual schedule.
VISCON CELLARS: The tasting room/wine bar is open tonight for wine by the glass or bottle – 5-9 pm – at Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor).
FISH STICKS BASEBALL: Tickets remain for tonight’s 6:35 pm game vs. the Gumberoos at Steve Cox Memorial Park – it’s Flashback Friday, to 2014! (1321 SW 102nd, White Center).
JUNCTION FC SOCCER: Second-to-last home match for the first-season team, 7 pm at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle) – ticket link and other info in our preview.
KENYON HALL CABARET: All-ages monthly drag show at Kenyon Hall (7904 35th SW), doors at 7, show at 7:30.
SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK: Abbreviated “Backyard Bard” version of “All’s Well That Ends Well“ at 7 pm, High Point Commons Park (6400 Sylvan Way SW), free, presented by GreenStage.
AT THE SPOT: Fridays are Live Artist Showcase nights at The Spot West Seattle (2920 SW Avalon Way), 7-10 pm.
REVELRY ROOM DJ: Festival special DJ lineup! (4547 California SW)
AT THE SKYLARK: Doors 7, music 8, with Karismata, The Sejongs, Kuwaisiana, $10 cover. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
YOU SKATE, THEY PLAY: “Make It Loud!” at Southgate Roller Rink (9646 17th SW), roller skating to live bands, featuring Catica, Mr. Dinkles, Tongues *FREE BAR SHOW*. $18 cover, $5 skate.
What are we missing? If you have something else to add to our event lists and calendar, please email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
9:29 AM: Thanks for the tips. More than 300 customers are without power in The Junction, and the City Light map shows the outage overlapping much of the West Seattle Summer Fest zone (the festival is scheduled to start at 1 pm). We have a team member in the area now and he’s trying to find out more.
9:43 AM: So far the businesses we’ve found, north of Alaska (working our way south), all have power. And the festival crew tells us the food/drink booths run on generator power, so they will be up and running regardless. Please let us know if you’re in The Junction and ARE affected – thank you!
9:56 AM: As commenter Darren says below, and as we discovered at one business (Elliott Bay), power is reduced but not entirely out (Elliott Bay for example has 110 but not 220). The outage map now attributes this to “bird/animal contact.”
10:22 AM: The number of customers affected has dropped on the map to 143, less than half the original number.
1:14 PM: We’re at Summer Fest now, and so is City Light. Meantime, Junction 47 is still suffering effects of the outage, including – as noted in comments – the Junction Starbucks, which is closed until the power’s back.
7:23 PM: The map shows the outage resolved sometime since we last checked hours ago.
The start of West Seattle Summer Fest today also brings the start of the West Seattle Food Bank‘s famous annual raffle – here’s the announcement explaining how to get your ticket(s)!
We are thrilled to announce the start of our Summer Raffle ticket sales! This year, we have an exciting lineup of prizes and a fantastic way for everyone to be a winner while supporting our community.
A total of 500 tickets are up for grabs, each priced at just $10. Everyone’s a winner! Each ticket stub entitles the holder to a one-time 10% discount at each of the five participating restaurants: Phoenecia, West Seattle Grounds, T2 Wine Cellers, Seattle Sorbets, and Soprano’s Antico.
The grand draw will take place on July 31st, with the first prize being a $150 gift card for West Seattle Junction. The second prize is a $100 gift card to Hotwire Coffee, and the third prize is a $50 gift card to Sound and Fog. Winners will be notified by phone.
Tickets can be purchased at WSFB’s Summer Fest booth, Float Dodger 5K booth, or by visiting the food bank on weekdays between 9 am and 3 pm. All proceeds from the raffle will be directly utilized to support our mission of keeping our neighbors fed and housed. We look forward to your participation in this exciting event!
We’ll add the exact booth locations a bit later (most booths line California SW between Oregon and Edmunds); Food Bank HQ is at 35th/Morgan
6:00 AM: Good morning! It’s Friday, July 12. Street closures and bus reroutes for West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction are in full effect this morning. California is closed from Edmunds to Oregon and Oregon to Genesee; Alaska is closed between 44th and 42nd. This page has bus reroute notices from Metro.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
The forecast: Still sunny, high in the low 80s for the entire festival and at least several days beyond. Today’s sunrise was at 5:24 am, while sunset will be at 9:04 pm.
ROAD WORK
*The Admiral Way Bridge seismic project has begun; here are more specifics. Fairmount Avenue is now closed under the bridge for the duration of the project, likely into early 2025.
*SDOT’s Delridge pedestrian-bridge earthquake-safety project also continues, with narrowing at Delridge/Oregon.
*Beach Drive: Gas-pipeline work continues at spots along the southern stretch.
TRANSIT NOTES
Metro today – Summer Fest reroutes as mentioned above, otherwise a regular schedule; check for advisories here.
Water Taxi today – Regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you need to see where the boat is.
Washington State Ferries today – The usual 2 boats on the Triangle Route, and the unscheduled third boat may should be back, per WSF.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS (Apologies if SDOT hasn’t fixed them yet)
Low bridge: Here’s the main view:
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Orchard), cameras are also at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, Delridge/Oregon, and video-only (so you have to go to the map), Delridge/Holden and Delridge/Thistle.
High Bridge – Here’s the main camera:
High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):
1st Avenue South Bridge:
MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: All functioning traffic cams citywide are here; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.
BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are open for vessel traffic.
If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water, please text or call our hotline (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if they’re not already on scene) – 206-293-6302. Thank you!
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